Heal
by chiefsnoozles
Summary: Toph is injured, and Zuko tries to console Sokka while they desperately try to help her. Oneshot, Tokka and a small bit of sibling Toko. Rated T for language and blood.


Toph Beifong was not a person known to get hurt. She wasn't the kind of person that would sacrifice herself for a friend; Toph was cocky and selfish. So, when she did both of these things - get hurt, and in the process of saving her best friend - of course, nobody took it as well as they would have with anyone else.

"Shit!" Sokka muttered, kneeling down next to her and applying pressure to her wound. "Katara!" He screamed. "Help!" Alas, his sister was nowhere to be found, and neither was Avatar Aang. The only people available to help were Suki and Zuko, neither of which knew much about treating wounds. Unfortunately, Sokka knew no more than they did.

"I'll go find her!" Suki said, nodding to her boyfriend and running off. Suki really was a good person and a good girlfriend. A good girlfriend for Sokka in particular? That was debatable.

"I can look too, if you, uh, want." Zuko offered, but Sokka shook his head.

"No. Toph... Well, you're the only one that understands her. I need your help." Sokka insisted.

Zuko raised his eyebrow. "Are you sure? She just sacrificed herself for you, and that's not like her-"

"I know." He said. "And what you just said proves that you can read her like a book. I, on the other hand, can't comprehend anything she does. Now please, _please_ help me."

Zuko, like he could understand Toph, could somehow understand many people, including Sokka. In fact, the only person he couldn't understand was himself. And from what Sokka was saying right now, Zuko assumed that if Toph died today, Sokka would never forgive himself- or Zuko, for that matter. So, for his own good, but mostly for his brotherly fondness for both Toph and Sokka, Zuko knelt down, tore a piece of cloth off of his expensive clothes, and soaked up Toph's endless blood.

He glanced over at Sokka. "Are you... Crying?" He asked, frowning.

"Hell yeah, I am." Sokka responded, wiping his eyes. "I just can't forgive her for this."

"You're mad at Toph?" Zuko asked, continuing to apply pressure to Toph's wounds. "Why not at my sister? She's the one who did this and ran off."

"Because," Sokka answered, "Your sister meant to hurt me, not Toph."

"And that makes everything she does okay?" Zuko questioned.

"No." Sokka replied. "It makes it bearable."

Zuko was silent for a moment. "You know, these wounds are deep..."

"I know." Sokka said sharply. "Suki better get back here with Katara and Aang quickly, or else Toph will bleed out and it'll be all her fault."

"No." Zuko said, attracting Sokka's attention. "You can't say that even if it is true. I know Toph means a lot to you, but taking it out on Suki doesn't help."

Sokka nodded. "You're right. I just have to focus on helping Toph." He turned his attention to his best friend's unconscious body, and Zuko found the strength to smirk at his friend's obliviousness to his own feelings for Toph.

After a while, Zuko said, "Why don't you break up with Suki if you love Toph?"

"Because-" Sokka began, but he caught himself. "I- I don't love Toph like _that_."

"I wish Toph were awake, because then she'd be able to tell you that you're lying." Zuko forged a smile as Sokka punched his arm, just as Toph usually did.

"Just focus." He demanded, checking for Toph's heartbeat. "At least she's alive."

"For now." Zuko reminded his friend of the actual urgency of the situation.

"God, Toph..." Sokka muttered. "What the hell are you are you doing to me?"

It was true- Toph was playing the cruel and endless game of love- one that Sokka had not came in touch with for a long time.

Sokka began to apply even more pressure to her wounds, only attracting more blood, and soon enough, it was all over him. "Shit!"

"Sokka." Zuko consoled, stepping away from Toph. "There isn't anything we can do until Katara gets here. Just let her be."

"No!" He insisted. "I'm staying by her."

Zuko sighed, looking down. "Don't you realize now, that Toph was the one standing beside _you_ this entire time, even when you've known Suki longer? Suki didn't stay with you, and Toph did, even when Aang and Katara made her mad. She stayed not only because she was Aang's sensei, but because of _you_. Suki is a great person, trust me... Just not... Great for you."

"Stop giving me relationship advice!" Sokka yelled, wiping his eyes. "She's dying!"

Zuko rushed over to Toph and pressed his ear to her chest. "...She's not dying, Sokka. She's dead."

Sokka collapsed into a fit of cuss words and tears, as Katara, Aang, and Suki rushed over just in time. But not really. Suki tried to comfort Sokka, Aang tried to help Zuko, and Katara tried desperately to heal her friend. It was no use, and she only had one risky idea left.

"Zuko!" She demanded. "Send lighting through her body." The group stared in shock. "Just do it! It certainly won't _hurt_ her, she's dead, if you haven't noticed!"

Zuko did as he was told, sending a jolt of blue lighting through Toph's body.

"Again." Katara said. Once, twice, three times again. "Again!" She cried. "Keep doing it until she wakes up!" Aang tried to comfort her, but failed, as he needed comfort as well.

And suddenly, when everybody had gave up hope, they heard a breath. A single, clear breath, that echoed beyond the canyon walls. They were afraid to look.

Toph sat up, frowned, and said, "Well, don't just sit there, you idiots! I'm bleeding."

"Toph!" Sokka yelled, pouncing into her arms.

"Owwww! I sorta got stabbed, remember?" She complained, but he couldn't hear her.

Zuko looked over at Aang and Katara, who were crying tears of joy, and then Suki, who was smiling, but had a hurt look in her eyes. Zuko nodded at her, and she nodded back. They both knew that this was how it was supposed to be.

And then, he looked back over and Toph and Sokka, who were still embracing. Toph's entire face was bright red out of embarrassment, while Sokka's was from crying. "Toph..." He muttered, and then, opening his eyes to see her blood all over him, staggered back, and, with a relieved smile, demanded, "Well, Katara, heal her!"

And that's just what she did.


End file.
